Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, and Jeff Bridges Up to Replace Jude Law in 'Jane Got a Gun'

You're probably not familiar with the - for lack of a better word - 'rough' road the indie western, Jane Got a Gun, has been on for the past couple weeks, so here's a quick recap:

• As of a month ago, Natalie Portman is set to star as Jane, a woman whose outlaw husband returns home riddled with bullets, forcing her to team with her ex-lover (Michael Fassbender) to seek revenge on the man responsible (Joel Edgerton).  Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) is set to direct with Portman also producing.

• A little more than two weeks ago, Fassbender drops out of the project, citing scheduling conflicts with X-Men: Days of Future Past (other word is he didn't get along with Ramsay).  Edgerton - being the good sport he is - decides to take on the ex-lover role Fassbender was to play, leading Jude Law to come in to play the villian role instead.

• This past Monday, Ramsay decides to no-show the first day of shooting, a not to subtle message that she's quit the project.

• Tuesday, the producers announce they've nabbed Gavin O'Connor (Warrior, the best film no one's seen) to direct the project, with a new start date of Thursday to begin shooting.

• Finally, Jude Law - being the 'good sport' he is - says screw you to the producers and quits as well, stating he signed on 'to work with Ramsay.'

So here we are today, with the film's barely two-day old director O'Connor and the producers scrambling to fill the villian role that's been vacated twice already.

Word comes that they're looking to get an actor with an 'international brand' (I guess they don't care what Americans think) and on the list are Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, and a bit out of left-field choice, Jeff Bridges.

Gyllenhaal and Maguire have a history with Portman, having worked with the actress on Brothers while also being in the same age-range as Edgerton and Law, implying the role is for a young-to-middle age man.

The wild card here is Bridges who obviously doesn't fit the age-range but is one of the best actors working today.  Being that the role is for the villain - and not the ex-lover or husband (who's playing him anyway?) - it's safe to say it doesn't matter how old the guy is, as long as he's evil and can kick ass.

Stay tuned for more on this very troubled production as maybe by next week Portman will have dropped out with Betty White taking her place (that was a joke).

Source: LA Times

Sony Pictures Finds Director for 'Goosebumps' Film; Hollywood Continues to Rape 90s Childhood

I never would have thought when I was watching R.L. Stine's Goosebumps TV series as a kid that one day it would be made into a feature-film.

Though I never thought the kid from the Say Cheese and Die would go on to become Ryan Gosling so stranger things have happened.

Sony Pictures announced a while back that they were looking to make the popular young-adult book series from the 1990s into a movie and it looks like they've finally found a director in Rob Letterman (Monsters Vs Aliens, Shark Tale).

I've never seen any of his films but from what I read, he's a great choice and should do something fun and original.

No word on if the film will be based on a specific book (The Haunted Mask anyone?) or something else entirely but expect more news in the coming months.

Meanwhile, I'll wait until they announce the feature-film adaption of Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Source: Deadline

Christian Bale to Play Moses?

He's already played a psycho, a guy who dresses like a bat, a emaciated machinist, and a crack-head boxer, so why not play the biblical legend who freed the Jews?

Christian Bale is said to be in-talks to play Moses in Ridley Scott's, Exodus, a project that 20th Century Fox is now looking to fast-track against Warner Bros. own Moses-centered film, Gods And Kings.  The latter recently had Steven Spielberg drop out as director with recent Academy Award winning Life of Pi director, Ang Lee, now be courted to take on the project.

Scott's film has been in-development for some time with Steve Zaillian (Schindler's List, American Gangster) now coming in to do re-writes to the original script.  It's said Scott wants to get going on this project as soon as his current film, The Counselor, is complete.

Bale meanwhile has been keeping himself busy since ending his run as Batman (maybe...) with two Terrence Malick film's, a currently untitled project and Knight of Cups, the revenge thriller, Out of the Furnace (to be released later this year), and the presently shooting, David O. Russell-directed, Abscam flick with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

Biblical epics are currently the hot topic in Hollywood with the History Channel's miniseries, The Bible, doing kick-ass ratings and studio execs seeing $ signs everywhere.

Stay tuned for more news about this project and what's sure to be other related projects as they become available.

Source: Deadline

David O. Russell's Next Set for December Awards Season Release

Isn't it funny how less than four years ago David O. Russell was pretty much on nobody's radar, yet here we are in 2013 and the man's been nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the Oscars now...twice?!?

How far they come.

Anyway, news comes today that Russell's next film, still untitled but formerly known as American Bullshit, will hits theaters in limited release December 13th then go wide on Christmas Day.

The film holds an impressive cast including Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Adams, and Jeremy Renner.

The pic is based on the real-life undercover sting operation called Abscam (why not just call the film that?) which was set up in the 1980s by a con artist working for the FBI who rooted out corruption in Congress.

There's no official word on who's playing who but I can't help but recall Bale is playing the con artist with Cooper playing an FBI agent and Renner as a corrupt politician.

Word will come soon enough though as this pic is set for another prime awards season run for Russell and Co. as maybe the director will land another Best Picture and Best Director nomination, and maybe, just maybe, win this time out.

Stay tuned for more on this project as it develops.

Source: Collider

Abbie Cornish Says 'RoboCop' Remake Might Be A Classic

Speaking with VH1, actress Abbie Cornish seemed to singing high praise for Jose Padilha's upcoming RoboCop remake, due out next year.

Cornish - who will be playing the role of Ellen Murphy, widow of Alex Murphy AKA RoboCop - had this to say when asked about the project:

"It's gonna be a massively kick-ass film...I actually have a voicemail message from Jose Padilha, the director. He says in the message, 'I don't think we've got a great movie. I think we've got a classic."

Pretty strong words considering the original is deemed as a classic itself, not to mention the notably troubled production this film has had (change in release date which is never a good sign, reports that Padilha did not get along with the studio at all).

Maybe the film did turn out better than many initially thought it would, however; I'm not holding my breath on that one.

The video of Cornish discussing the film can be seen below:

The film also stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. From Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures, the film was written by Josh Zetumer and Nick Schenk, based on the 1987 motion picture written by Edward Neumeier & Michael Miner. The film is produced by Marc Abraham and Eric Newman, with Bill Carraro serving as executive producer. 

In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Their drones are winning American wars around the globe and now they want to bring this technology to the home front. Alex Murphy (Kinnaman) is a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit. After he is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp utilizes their remarkable science of robotics to save Alex's life. He returns to the streets of his beloved city with amazing new abilities, but with issues a regular man has never had to face before.

RoboCop opens February 7th, 2014.

Source: ComingSoon.net

Christian Bale: The 'New Batman'?

As you all know (unless you've been sleeping under a rock) the film industry was pretty much shocked late Sunday, early Monday morning with news coming out that Christopher Nolan is in 'negotiations' to 'Godfather' all DC comic-related films over at Warner Bros. including the on-again, off-again Justice League film.

But that wasn't all, it was also leaked that not only will Nolan produce Justice League - like he is doing with this summer's Man of Steel - but also that film's director, Zack Snyder, will be on-board as well to not only produce but possibly direct the film with his Superman, Henry Cavill, joining in.  David Goyer, who has you know has had a heavy hand in both The Dark Knight Trilogy and the aforementioned Man of Steel, would handle main scripting and story duties (I also would suspect Chris's brother, Jonathan, would be involved as well).

The real earth shattering news though was that Christian Bale, the Bruce Wane/Batman we all have known for nearly a decade when you think about it, would be reprising his role in a team-up with Cavill's Clark Kent/Superman.  This was also mind-numbing as many had thought both Nolan and Bale were done with Batman following the end of their trilogy.

Obviously, many fans are beyond estastic with this news, however; just as many aren't.

A lot feel this kind of move would tamper with the 'trilogy' Nolan put together and hinder the end of The Dark Knight Rises which left Bruce happy and at peace without Batman.

Well, looks like both parties might get their wish...sort of.

The always reliable and respectful Bill 'Jett' Ramey over at Batman-On-Film has put out a cryptic bit of info that Bale may be coming back as Batman, but NOT the Batman from The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Confusing a bit, right?

Jett put a poll up on his website (which you can visit below) asking would fans accept Christian Bale back as the 'new' cinematic Batman but not the same one from Nolan's films.

The reasoning behind this - as many have hinted at and speculated on - is that Warner Bros. wants Bale back but Nolan isn't about ready to conflict his trilogy he worked so hard on.  So, some big execs over at Warners poised the question, 'why not bring him back but let him be a different Batman?  That way the trilogy isn't affected and people still get to see Bale as the Dark Knight.'

Well, I can think of a few reasons why that wouldn't work, the main being that it would confuse the shit out of people.  Unless it was blatantly addressed in the World's Finest/Justice Leauge film, ala Bale basically turning to the camera and saying, "I'm back, but I'm not the same one from the other films!", I don't see it working.

What could be an option is making Bale's Batman a 'loose continuation' of the one from the trilogy.  He can be around the same age, and in a similar situation as how he was left at the end of TDKR, but not hinted at so-much where it's obvious this is a continuation of Bruce's story from the trilogy.  That way, the trilogy isn't compromised and the general masses aren't confused the hell out of.  They can basically make their own assumptions.  Open-ended if you will.

Anyway, sound off with your comments and here is the poll that Jett put up on his website, asking what you think about this possibility?

Bale as 'New Batman' Poll

Remember, they're paying attention.

Source: Batman-On-Film

Production Begins on George Clooney's 'The Monuments Men'

Fresh off producing the recent Best Picture winner, Argo, George Clooney and his buddy Grant Heslov (yes, that's the guy from True Lies) are starting production on their next project, The Monuments Men.

The film boasts an all-star cast that includes Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, and of course, Clooney himself who will also direct.

The story centers around the true events of a unlikely platoon of museum directors who are given the task of venturing behind enemy lines during World War II to rescue precious artistic masterpieces before their destruction at the hands of Nazis.

Read below for the full press release as The Monuments Men is set for release later this year on December 18th.

Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox announced today that The Monuments Men, a Smokehouse production directed by and starring George Clooney, has started production in Berlin, Germany. The action-thriller is written by Clooney & Grant Heslov, based on the book by Robert M. Edsel with Bret Witter. Clooney and Heslov also produce the film through their Smokehouse Productions. It is their first production since winning the Academy Award® for Best Picture for their work on Argo. Barbara A. Hall is executive producer. The Monuments Men is a co-production with Germany’s Siebente Babelsberg Film GmbH, a subsidiary of Studio Babelsberg AG. Charlie Woebcken, Christoph Fisser and Henning Molfenter serve as co-producers. Sony Pictures will release the film domestically, with Twentieth Century Fox handling international territories.

The all-star cast includes Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, and John Goodman.

Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys – seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 – possibly hope to succeed? But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind’s greatest achievements.

Clooney’s crew on The Monuments Men includes director of photography Phedon Papamichael, ASC, Oscar®-nominated production designer Jim Bissell, Academy Award®-winning editor Stephen Mirrione, A.C.E., costume designer Louise Frogley, and five-time Oscar® nominated composer Alexandre Desplat.

The Monuments Men continues filming in Germany and the United Kingdom through the end of June. It is scheduled for domestic release on December 18, 2013.

Source: Columbia Pictures

Official Logo for '300: Rise of an Empire'

This is how bad weekend news has been.

Warner Bros. has released - via the film's Facebook page - the official logo for 300: Rise of an Empire (a film that's about 3 years too late), the prequel to 2007's 300.

While I've always felt 300 was a rather overrated film for it's time, a sequel/prequel has been talked about for years so it serves as no surprise one finally got made.

I'm not too familiar with the film's story (as I could not find an official synopsis) but it obviously takes place before the events in 300 and I believe revolves around Rodrigo Santoro's character from the first film, Xerxes, the Persian emperor.

It should be noted as well that neither the original film's star Gerard Butler nor director Zack Snyder are involved in this project, a HUGE absence considering much of the original's success centered on those two.

No official release date has been set, though considering the film's logo, it's safe to say it'll be out sometime this year.

Source: Facebook

Trailer for Aaron Eckhart Actioner 'Erased'

The first - and likely only - trailer is now online for the Aaron Eckhart Taken-like flick, Erased (formerly called The Expatriate) which has actually already been released in the U.K. under that name.

For those unfamiliar, this film was shot nearly two years ago which is obviously never a good sign (it is being released in May so it has a chance to make some money).

Erased tells the story of a former CIA agent who moves to Belgium with his 15 year-old daughter to start a new life, though soon learns things aren't what they seem as an international conspiracy has targeted himself and his daughter for assassination.

The film looks good, but I can't help but think its original title should have been left alone.  I may be in the minority, but I first thought it was a sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Eraser, when I caught glimpse.

Anyway, the trailer and synopsis are below:

When ex-CIA agent Ben Logan discovers that he and his daughter have been marked for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues as Logan tries to outsmart his hunters and uncover the truth.

Erased opens in theaters May 10th.

Antoine Fuqua Boxing Drama 'Southpaw' Back on Track

The good news is that we have another boxing drama on the way and Eminem - who was attached to star at one point - is no longer on-board.

The bad news is director Antoine Fuqua still is.

Yeah, that's right.  I don't think much of Antoine Fuqua.  Training Day was overrated and he hasn't done anything good since (besides maybe Brooklyn's Finest).  Don't even get me started either on Olympus Has Fallen, which looks like complete popcorn shit with Gerard 'Still running on 300 fame' Butler even though that movie came out over 7 years ago.

Southpaw - written by Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter - tells the story of a lefthanded prizefighter who wins the title then, after tragedy, must put his life back together to win the respect of his young daughter.

Originally, the project was seen as a starring vehicle for rapper Eminem, who was going to use the film to mirror his own life, but since has dropped out.  However, during the time the famous rapper was on-board to star, Fuqua signed-on to direct with numerous studios - including Dreamworks and MGM - picking up the project then deciding to drop it altogether.

Now, word comes that The Weinstein Co. has agreed to finance the project and casting discussions are currently underway.  No names are given but it's said the flick could go before the cameras by the end of the year.

Source: LA Times